For many students, choosing the right career and securing employment after university can be difficult and incredibly daunting. Work experience can help many students decide on the right job role in the future and gain valuable practical skills that are attractive to prospective employers. However, there are so many more benefits of work experience for students, such as:

• Helping you decide the right career path
• Enabling you to put theory-based learning into practice
• Helping you to build relationships with the right people
• Improving your chances on securing a job after university
• Improving your self-confidence, maturity and independence

Let’s explore the above advantages of work experience for you as a student, in more detail;

Helping you decide the right career path

One of the biggest advantages of work experience is that you are able to gain real-life insights into an industry you are considering as a long-term profession. Gaining the right work experience can help to confirm whether your initial choice of industry is the right one to pursue in the future.

Likewise, work experience may also highlight the day-to-day work involved with a particular industry may not be what you initially expected and may help you decide this career path isn’t for you. Either scenario can be really helpful as it clears up any misconceptions and will allow you to visualise and understand what might be expected of you if you were to be offered a job in that particular field.

Enabling you to put theory-based learning into practice

It’s no secret that the best way to acquire skills is to ‘learn by doing’. There is a lot of theory-based learning at university which gives you the all-important background information and foundations for success within your chosen course.

Opting to undertake work experience will help you apply your theory-based knowledge in a real-life setting and help you to properly understand and form a connection between learning and employment. Many employers are more than happy for students to test new ideas and offer creative input into client campaigns, giving students the opportunity to put theory into practice.

It’s not uncommon for students to base their final project or dissertation on a subject that was explored during a work experience placement as they have a well-rounded view of the initial theory, all the way through to implementation. Businesses can also offer support and guidance throughout the project and help students see how it works first hand.

Helping you to build relationships with the right people

Any work experience or internship helps you to network with individuals you may otherwise not have met. Securing a work placement essentially helps you to get a foot in the door with prospective employers and form relationships with people that could influence your career path later down the line.

Improving your chances on securing a job post-university

Many businesses see work experience as a mutually beneficial opportunity. Not only does it provide students with a better chance of finding a job after university, it also helps employers test a student’s capabilities with a view to recruiting them, should there be a position available in the future.

Students who undertake relevant work experience based around a role they are applying for, are showcasing to employers that they have a more rounded understanding of what that role may entail and this is looked on favourably by many businesses.

Improving your self-confidence, maturity and independence

Work experience doesn’t just help on a practical level, it helps to develop and strengthen personal attributes too. Stepping into employment straight after university can be a scary prospect for many students. Work experience can bridge the gap between learning and employment and help build the confidence of students when applying for jobs in the future. Adding work experience to your CV demonstrates that you are motivated, independent and proactive in finding the right role to employers, an attractive quality which stands out during the recruitment process.

Why do we at Caring Service think it is important for young people to gain work experience?

We all have to start somewhere. The more exposure you have to the workplace, the more you can make informed decisions, the more you can look at your strengths and skill sets. It’s also an opportunity to explore other areas you may not have considered. It can provide you with a good reference plus it looks great on your CV and it can lead to more doors opening. It can also help students who are very practical to shine. If you are interested in any of the part-time opportunities we currently have available in Education, Social Care or Childcare, browse through our current vacancies or contact us here to find out more.